Car-fender.



G. A. PARMENTEIL,

GAR FENDER. I APPLICATION FILED MAY 5, 1913.

Patented May 12, 191$ GEORGE A. PARMENTER, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

GAB/FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1914.

Application filed May 5, 1913. Serial No. 765,577.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. PARMEN- 'rnn, citizen of the United States, residing at Cambridge, Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in life guards for street railway cars, and particularly to that type known as front fenders, and has among others for its objects to prevent undue vibration or oscillation of the fender under the jarring or motion of the car; to obviate unnecessary stiffness, and enable the portions designed to catch the body of a person on the back to yield sufliciently to prevent injury; to facilitate the proper tripping of the device by the motorman, and to enable it to be readily reset from the platform, which is specially desirable in view of the closed front or vestibule type of car which is coming so generally into use.

With these and other objects in view, the invention includes the novel features of construct-ion and arrangment and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined by the appended claims.

A fender embodying my invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved fender showing diagrammatically a suflicient portion of the front platform of a car to illustrate its application thereto; Fig. 2 is a front view with parts broken away; and Fig. 3 is a plan view.

Referring by reference characters to these drawings, the numeral 1 is intended to designate the front platform of a car, from the sills of which the fender 2 is pivotally supported through uprights 12 secured in brackets 13 mounted on the square ends of the squared shaft 1 1, which is pivotally supported in hangers 15 secured to the sills of the car body. This fender comprises the basket or pick-up portion 3, which is formed by the side bars 4, front bar 5 and rear bar 6, forming a rectangular frame and which may be braced at intervals by cross bars 7, said bars being connected by crossing strips 8 forming a reticulated covering for the frame. The fender further comprises the substantially upright netting 9 which is connected at its lower edge to the cross bar 6, and at its upper end to a flexible wire or cable 10 extending between the chains 11, to which chains the ends of the netting 9 are connected.

The side bars 4 are continued rearwardly, as indicated at 1, and provided with in wardly turned ends which engage in eyes formed in the lower ends of the vertical spring bars or uprights 12, which bars or uprights are connected to blocks or brackets 13 having square recesses which engage the ends of a square shaft 14 pivotally supported in hangers 15 secured to the under sides of the sills of the car body. This square shaft has a rearwardly extending controlling arm 16, fixedly secured thereto, the rear end of which is designed to engage a catch lever 17 which. normally holds the rear end of the lever depressed, and consequently holds the fender elevated.

The major portion of the spring bars or uprights 12 are formed of two spring bars, as shown, but one of these is extended above the other and has an overturned or hool shaped upper end, as indicated at 12, and it is to this hook-shaped upright end that the netting 9 is connected by means of springs 18, so as to allow the netting to yield upon the impact of a body. If this netting and the chains 11 were the only support for the lateral portion of the fender, the spring connection would allow it to oscillate or flap vertically to an objectionable amount, while if the chains were connected directly without the interposition of springs 18, then the netting would be held too rigidly. This objection I avoid by providing a second set of chains 19 which extend from the side bars 1 to the upper end of the double portion of the spring uprights, or in other words, to the point where the uprights are of maximum rigidity, and thus the lower portion of the bars or fender is held against vibration while at the same time the netting is allowed to yield. sufliciently to prevent injury to any person who may be caught by the fender.

The catch lever 17 is provided at its lower end with a recess 17, the lower wall of which is formed longer than the upper walls, so that the former afi'ords constant support for the end of the controlling arm 16 and prevents its passing below the catch lever, and the said catch lever is pivoted on a rock shaft 20. In order to swing the catch lever 17 rearwardly to release the controllin arm 16 and allow the fender to drop, provide a vertically extending shaft 21 carrying at its upper end a lever arm 22 located within convenient reach of the motorman. This rock shaft 21 carries at its lower end an arm 23 which is pivotally connected by a link 24 to an arm 25 fixedly secured to and projecting laterally from the catch lever 17, so that rotation of the rock shaft 21 by the lever 22 causes the catch lever 17 to be pushed backwardly against the tension of the spring 25 which allows the controlling arm 16 to rise and the fender to drop by its own gravity. Upward movement of the arm 16 is limited by a stop 17 on the catch lever, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

For the purpose of re-setting the fender, I provide a resetting lever 26 pivotally connected at its rear end to a bracket 27 de pending from the, car sill, the forward end of the lever 26 being. connected to a treadle 28-extending upward through the car platform intoconvenient position to be operated by thefoot of the motor-man. This lever 26 carries a pin or projection 29 which extends laterally over the controlling arm 16, so that depression of the treadle and lever 26 will cause the arm 16 to be forced downwardly until its rear end rests in and is held by the notch 17 of the catch lever.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A fender for cars comprising uprights with means for pivotally connecting them to a car, a pick up portion pivoted to the lower ends of. said uprights, a netting connected at its lower edge to the pick up. portion, elastic connections for supporting the upper edge of the. netting from the upper ends of the uprights, and flexible inelastic connections between the pick up portion and the uprights.

2. A fender for cars comprisinga pair of uprights with means near their lower ends for pivotally supporting them at the end of the car, a pick up portion pivotally con; nected to the lower ends of the uprights, a

pair of flexible connecting devices extending from the pick up portion upwardly and having their upper ends elastically connected to the uprights, and flexible inextensible connections between said pick up portion and said uprights below the upper ends of the latter.

3. In combination with a car, a fender pivotally supported thereby and having a rearwardly extending arm, a catch lever for holding said arm depressed, means for swinging said catch lever rearwardly to releasethe arm, and a stop on said catch lever forlimiting the upward movement of the arm.

4. In combination with a street or like car, a front fender pivotally connected thereto, a rearwardly extending. controlling arm, a catch lever for engagingsaid arm, a l e-setting lever having a part overlying said controlling lever, and means for operating said re-setting lever. i

I 5. In combinationwith a car, a. fender pivotally connected thereto, and, having a. rearwardly extending controlling arm, a spring pressed catch lever for engagin said controlling arm, a vertically. disposed rock shaft having a hand lever in convenient reach for. the motorman at its upperend, and a transversely extending at its lower end, and. a link connecting the said transverse arm with the catch lever. l U

6. In combination with a street railway car, a fender pivotally connected thereto, a

rearwardly extending controlling lever, a pivotally connected "catch lever, a spring connecting, said catch lever with said con.- trolling arm, and 'means for forcing the catch lever rearwardly' against the tension of the spring.

In testimony whereo; I afiix my in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. PARMENTER. lVitnesses:

GEO. W. EMMERT, Jr, ALICE O. MONELL.

signature C p ofthis Pa m y be obt ned f fire c n s ach by dre sin t e qemmiss qnfir o F sta ash n n D- 

